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My daughter is turning 18 Feb. 7, 2001 and is completing her senior year. She has plans to move in with her sister. We want our daughter to recieve the child support payments untill she graduates instead of her mother. We were told that wasn't possible and furthermore if her mother wanted her to come back home, she could force her to because our daughter is still enrolled in school and is ''under her mother's rule.'' How is that possible if she is 18 years of age?

Does child support cease after graduation? Can the state of Ohio force us to pay college expenses?

Asked on 2/06/01, 9:59 pm

1 Answer from Attorneys

It's funny. I have encountered similar questions concerning my own 18 year old emancipated/non-emancipated child. Although in my case, they come up in interactions with his high school. He is a senior, and 18. Yet, I am still asked to provide absent excuse notes and sign field trip permission slips.

I am not sure the legal situation is all that clear, either. Part of the problem is that until recent times (at least in terms of my life span) the age of majority was 21. When it was lowered to 18, not all of those badges of adulthood followed the age limit downward. As you probably are aware, for example, the drinking age has kind wobbled back and forth.

Juvenile Court can also exert jurisdiction over individuals until their 21st birthday on matters that originally predated their 18th birthday. Parental responsibility for support, also frequently continue past the 18th birtday with a benchmark usually set at high school graduation (or 21 whichever comes first)

A similar situation may be enountered if the child is disabled.

As far as your questions go, I suspect policy is going to govern here more than any black letter law. I don't believe (although I may be wrong) that college expenses can be compelled unless it is part of the divorce agreement. But then I practiced in child dependency end and got out of straight domestic relations just as paperwork requirements reached encyclopedia length.